Code Geass: Serena of the Beast People  Part 1
by AlphaWolfMegan
Summary: My OC Serena Winters, a shape-shifting wolf of the eight Beast People clans, and Suzaku Kururugi, son of the former Prime Minister of Japan, are great friends and have vowed to always stay by each other's side.  This takes place in childhood.
1. The First Meeting

I remember everything. All of it, as if it were only yesterday. I recall the time when I first met my first and best human friend, Suzaku Kururugi. My name is Serena Winters, the current main leader of the wolf clan of the Beast People, and the daughter of the past lord and lady of the wolf clan, Dachi and Charlene Winters.

I was only five years old when I first met Suzaku. It was the spring after I came back from my rite of passage (at when we Beasts get our animal forms). He too, was the same age as me, but only two days older. He was the son of the former Prime Minister of Japan, Genbu Kururugi, whom my father was friends with.

Genbu and Suzaku came to visit on that first day of spring in late March 2006. My father was the first one to greet them. After he greeted Genbu, he looked down on Suzaku (for I was watching from a distance). "Who is this dashing young fellow, my friend? I don't remember him from when you last visited us."

"This is my son, Suzaku," Genbu said. "Suzaku, this is my good friend, Lord Dachi Winters. He is the main leader of this entire clan of wolves."

A small smile formed on Father's face as he gazed down upon Suzaku. "Heh… the word 'lord' never did sound right to me. You can just call me Dachi. You know, young man, I have a daughter just about your age, and I'm sure she'd love to become friends with you."

"Really?" Suzaku asked. "Can I meet her?"

Father smiled brightly and nodded. "Of course," he said. "Just a moment." He turned his head my direction and called, "Serena! Serena, can you come here for a minute, my dear?"

I didn't hesitate at my father's command and ran to his side. "Yes, Father? What is it?" I asked.

"The Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi and his son have come to visit, so I'd thought that you would like to meet them both," Father said. "Here, meet Suzaku." He motioned a hand over for me to look at Suzaku.

When I looked at Suzaku, I smiled. "Hello there, Suzaku, I'm Serena," I said to my new friend. "Would you like to play?"

"Sure, Serena, I'd love to play!" Suzaku said.

A couple of seconds later, I poked him playfully in the chest and yelled, "Tag, you're it! See if you can catch me, Suzaku!" I ran from him, and Suzaku did not hesitate to chase after me.

As we chased each other, I could overhear our fathers talking about us. "You know, Genbu, your son seems like a fine young fighter, despite his age. Does he not, my friend?" Father asked Genbu.

"Indeed he does," Genbu said, "and so does your daughter."

Distracted by their conversing, Suzaku finally caught me and pinned me to the ground as we laughed. When he let me up, he said to me, "We hardly have any room to run around in the village, Serena. Want to ask your father if we can play somewhere where we have more space?"

"Alright," I said with a nod. "I'm going to ask Father if we can play by the Burnt Pine near the edge of our territory." I looked over to Father and said, "Father, can we go play in the woods?"

"Of course, just don't go off territory!" Father shouted back. "And be back before sunset!"

"We will!" I said. "Let's go, Suzaku."

"Right!" Suzaku said, and we ran off into the woods to play for a while. We ran for a good two miles without rest, and then we stopped when we reached the Burnt Pine. "Is this the Burnt Pine?" Suzaku asked me.

"Yes, this is it," I said with a nod. "I know it doesn't look like much, but this is where we store some of our kills when we go on hunts, and to get away sometime, my brother Solaris and I would come here for a good mountain view."

"And I can see why," Suzaku said as he looked out over the land. "You know, I'm jealous, Serena. You have such a majestic yet mysterious lifestyle. I only live in a crumpled house on a shrine, with my father alone."

"You live with just your father?" I asked, momentarily confused. "What about your mother? Doesn't she live with you, or did she…?"

"She died bearing me," Suzaku told me sadly as he sat on a nearby rock. I sat down with him. "Father never even talked about her, so I was told by my cousin Kaguya about what happened to Mother."

"I see," I said. "But you at least are glad that you have your father, my friend. My parents, I can live with, but my brothers… they're a royal pain in the butt, which is something unable to bear."

"Hey, Serena," Suzaku said. "If I or anyone else in my family are ever in danger, would you come and save us?"

"Of course I will!" I said. "Suzaku, if possible, I think we can be… forever friends, brother and sister in heart."

"Yes, I believe the same thing," Suzaku agreed, and we continued to look out over the land, letting the wind blow through our hair, and cherry blossom petals blew past us on the wind. This, my friends, is how I came to meeting my first human friend, Suzaku Kururugi, and I believe that the both of us could one day foresee at when we would become the part of a legend yet to come.


	2. The Black Demons Attack

Three years and eight months passed since Suzaku and I became best friends, and we were now nine years old, the both of us. This is where our real legend begins. It began on the night of November 15th, 2009.

Mother Charlene came into the room with our seven-month-old sister Sabrina in her arms. "Children, it's time for bed now," she said, her brown eyes glowing in the semi-darkness of the living room.

My four brothers (Joseph, Paul, Bill, and Solaris) and I stood up from where we were sitting and began to leave the room without questioning her. But right before we could fully exit the room, nearly every window around us shattered, and the invasion alarm was sounded off at the entrance to our territory.

I began to panic and screamed, clinging to Solaris, "What's happening? Mother, what's going on?"

"I don't know, but the five of you need to take Sabrina and flee, fast!" Mother ordered, handing our crying baby sister to Solaris. "Quick, my children, before you are all killed!" She pointed to the back window, which was shattered, but no one was near it.

"But, Mother…" I began to protest.

"Do as I say, and flee!" Mother said, this time much more firmly than she meant to, and we ran to the back window without saying anything more, and we climbed through it one at a time, and fled to the forest.

I, Solaris, and Sabrina got separated from our older brothers when we made a turn on the run. To me, it seemed that they had apparently gone back to help Father, against Mother's orders.

"Sister, come on!" Solaris yelled, holding the bawling Sabrina close to his chest, and the two of us started to run again, and just as we skidded to a halt near a cliffside, Solaris began to run alongside the cliff, whilst I slipped and began to dangle.

"Solaris, help me!" I screamed to my brother, who stopped and looked back. When he saw me the way I was, he gasped in horror and ran back to get me. When he was right in front of me, he kneeled down and reached for me. However, his attempt was futile when the part of the cliffside broke and the three of us fell into the river below together.

We plunged into the raging currents of water, and forced ourselves above in order to keep Sabrina alive. In the midst of fighting the currents to keep above water, I got separated from my brother and sister when the river split into two different paths, and everything went black as I screamed for my brother.

The next morning, I woke up, rather dazed, and washed up on a riverbank. I groaned as I slowly opened my green eyes, my reddish-brown hair soaking wet. I managed to slowly lift my head off the dirty sand and look up as I heard two young male voices in the distance.

In the next second, I caught a small glimpse of two human boys standing about ten meters away. It seemed like one of them was Suzaku, but before I could get a good look, my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I passed out.


	3. New Friends and a Horrifying Discovery

When I awoke from my mild concussion, I found myself in a small storehouse, hearing the voices of three people. When my eyesight adjusted, I saw my old friend Suzaku, talking to another boy with black hair that hung straight down and violet eyes, and a small girl with sandy-brown hair sitting in a wheelchair; her eyes were tight shut. "Suzaku?" I groaned.

Suzaku turned to me, his eyes wide. "Hey, Serena!" he said. "I'm glad you're finally awake. You sort of scared me when Lelouch and I found you in that river, unconscious."

"Hmm?" I said, raising a brow, slightly confused.

"Oh, yes," Suzaku laughed slightly, "you haven't met my new friends." He motioned a hand over to the other two humans sitting by the entrance to the storehouse. "Serena, this is Lelouch vi Britannia, and his little sister, Nunnally vi Britannia."

The boy with the black hair and violet eyes, Lelouch, stood up from where he was sitting and held his hand out in greeting. "Pleasure to meet you, Serena," he said kindly, a bright smile added to his tone of voice.

I stood up from the couch, where I had been laying down on, and politely returned the greeting by shaking his hand. "It's an honor to meet you as well, Lelouch; your sister Nunnally as well."

I heard Nunnally giggle slightly, and I looked past Lelouch. "So you're Serena Winters, right?" she asked. "Suzaku has told us so much about you."

At hearing that, I gulped without Lelouch and Nunnally hearing it. I looked at Suzaku and sent my thoughts to him (I gave him telepathy the year before): _Suzaku, by 'so much', did you tell them that I am a wolf?_

_No_, Suzaku thought back, shaking his head without Lelouch seeing, for he was talking to Nunnally about something I couldn't hear. _Not yet, anyway. Do you want me to tell them that you are?_

_No, they will find out in time, just not now_, I confirmed, and Suzaku nodded in agreement. I then fell out of my mind-reading stance and turned to Nunnally and Lelouch. "Suzaku told you about me?"

Nunnally nodded. "He even mentioned that your fathers were friends, and that's how you two are friends, right?" she asked.

"Yes, that's quite true," I said with a nod. "But I suppose you three are willing to hear how I ended up in the river. My village was raided last night, by a bunch of savage beasts known as Black Demons."

Suzaku's eyes widened in shock. "The _Black Demons_ invaded your territory?" he asked. "Were you pushed off the cliff leading to the river, or…" He was cut off when I interrupted him.

"My first brother, Solaris, and I fled with our seven-month-old sister Sabrina from the house when our mother, Charlene, ordered all six of us to run away," I started. "We ran off into the woods, and during the run, I slipped, and when Solaris tried to save me, the three of us fell into the river together. We got separated when the river split into two paths."

Pretty soon, all three of them had horrified glances, but Suzaku spoke first. "Are you planning to go back to the village?" he asked.

"Yes," I said with a nod, "and it'll be this evening when I return."

"Very well," Suzaku said.

…

Later that evening, as the set began to set behind Mt. Onyx, my home, I prepared to set out when Suzaku's voice stopped me. "Serena, wait up! We'll go with you!" he said, coming out of the storehouse, with Lelouch carrying Nunnally over his back beside him.

"Are you sure?" I asked, looking back at them and raising a brow. "You know full well that my village is at the base of Mt. Onyx, and it's quite a walk from here to there."

"It's okay," Suzaku assured me. "I'm sure we can make it just fine. Right, Lelouch?" He turned and looked at Lelouch, who was struggling to hold Nunnally onto his back.

All Lelouch did was nod.

"Alright," I said, shrugging my shoulders, "but do not say I didn't warn you." And with that, the four of us went down the steps of the Kururugi Shrine, and off we went to see if my village came out in one piece.

It took the four of us at least half an hour before we reached the hill that lead to my village. "My village is right over this hill, you three!" I announced to Suzaku, Lelouch, and Nunnally (whom Lelouch was still carrying, since I found out earlier that she was blind and disabled in her legs), who were coming up behind me.

"Thank goodness!" Lelouch said, forcing out a breath. "I'm give out."

"Oh, lord," I muttered to myself, before making my way to the top of the hill. But when I saw what I saw next, all I could put on my face was horror. "Boys, get up here fast," I said instantly.

It took them about fifteen seconds to do as I said, but when they came to my side, they too became horrified, for what we saw before was a completely _demolished_ village.


	4. A Saddening Death and a New Destiny

The three of us gazed down in horror at what we saw before us. My village had been completely destroyed, except for my house, which was the only one still standing. Not only houses were taken down, I saw the dead bodies of many people who were once my friends. Tears of horror welled up in my eyes, but they refused to fall.

"Serena," Suzaku said, "your village really _was_ attacked by the Black Demons. They've destroyed everything except your house, and many of your…" He silenced himself when I held up my hand in order to get him to stop speaking.

"I am aware, Suzaku," I said. "Let's get down here and see if there is anybody still alive." The boys nodded in agreement and we started down the hill to check anything. The first thing we saw was the motionless body of someone who looked familiar. I moved the body slightly but it fell in front of me, making me jump back and yell in terror.

"What is that?" Suzaku yelled. "Is he okay?"

I got up and turned away. "He's dead," I said sadly, noticing that the dead boy was a good friend of my brother, Solaris.

"Do you know who he is?" Lelouch stuttered, his violet eyes wide with horror. It seemed to me he was reliving a nightmare of the past.

I nodded. "It's Dylan, an old friend of my brother," I said, turning back to Dylan's dead body. I then looked over to Suzaku and Lelouch (who was still carrying Nunnally). "We need to split up. I'll go this way; you three look elsewhere for survivors."

The two boys nodded and we four went into different directions. I began to search the outbuildings as Suzaku and Lelouch searched the crumpled woodpiles.

About five minutes later, I heard Suzaku yell, "Serena, come here, and quick! I found your mother, Lady Charlene! She's still alive, but she's badly hurt! Come fast!" I didn't hesitate to run to his side, and Lelouch, still carrying Nunnally, came over as well.

Mother was lying underneath a shrub, badly bleeding, but still breathing. There was a deep wound on the side of her neck, and her abdomen was practically torn open. "Mother…!" I exclaimed breathlessly. I fell to my knees, and touched Mother's stomach wound, which was bleeding horrendously.

Mother gasped in pain, and I retracted my hand as she looked up and saw me. "Serena, I see you have survived last night's terrible invasion," Mother said quietly. She then saw Suzaku. "Suzaku Kururugi, was it you who saved my daughter?"

Suzaku nodded, and the sun was now completely below the Earth as Mother spoke again, "I thank you, Suzaku, but now, I ask that you take care of her. I will not survive."

I gasped in horror and said, "No, Mother, you can't die! You must live!" My hot tears suddenly spilled over my eyes as Mother reached up and I grabbed her hand. "Mother, please tell me, who did this to you? I must know!" I begged.

Mother's bloody hand began to slip from my own as she said, "…it was Romulus Sanders, who did this to me, Serena." She looked at Suzaku once more and told him, "Please, Suzaku, protect my daughter. She is everything to our people, and she will live if she remains with you."

I looked back at Suzaku; he was crying too. "As you wish, Lady Charlene," he said, doing a small, but solemn bow.

Mother smiled, but then she groaned softly in pain, and before her head fell to the side, she said to me, "Live on, Serena." Her hand then dropped from my own, into a pool of her own blood.

Eyes widened in horror and shock, I pushed at Mother's side, desperate to wake her. "Mother! Mother! MOTHER, OPEN YOUR EYES! MOTHER! MOTHER!" I screamed loudly, my scream echoing across Mt. Onyx. I then collapsed over Mother's body, sobbing incredulously hard. I couldn't believe that my mother was actually… dead.

It took the three of us several hours to bury the bodies of those who had been murdered, even Mother's. By the times all the bodies were buried, I cried endlessly over Mother's grave. "Mother…" I sobbed hard.

Suzaku, who was standing nearby with Lelouch and Nunnally, came over to my side, and gently touched my shoulder. "Serena, you must stop crying already. No matter how much you cry, Lady Charlene won't come back. And you're the daughter of Dachi, of course! Be a little tougher."

I stood up, nodded, and wiped my tears away with my shirt sleeve. "You're right, Suzaku. I should not cry. I am the daughter of Dachi, and a child of a legendary leader mustn't cry." I then looked past Suzaku and saw the sun rise over the hills. I widened my eyes as I looked. "Suzaku, I think I know what my name means now. My name, Serena, means 'daughter of the sun'."

Suzaku looked at the rising sun for a minute and then nodded in understanding. "Yes. Yes, of course, Serena, that makes sense!" he said. "Your father once told me that the day when you were born; the sun has since shone brighter than ever before. It's because you were put on this Earth that the sun has such great brightness and strength."

Now really excited, I said out loud, "Then the path of the sun is my very destiny!" I jumped past Suzaku and added, "Let's go, you three!"

"What? But you were just crying your eyes out!" Lelouch shouted in shock, but he was also laughing.

I ran to the exit of my now former home, and the boys ran to my side (Lelouch was still carrying Nunnally). I didn't know then that everyone else was still alive, but I did know that I was not alone any longer. I had Suzaku, Lelouch, and Nunnally at my side, and my adventure would begin now.


	5. Deathly Promises

For three whole weeks, I stayed with Suzaku, Lelouch, and Nunnally on the Kururugi Shrine. Living with them was beautiful and peaceful, since I apparently had nowhere to go.

One day, when I walked down into town for some food, I came upon Lelouch being beaten up by six Japanese boys. Suzaku was with me, and he watched as I ran down to help Lelouch. I let out a scream as I ran up and kicked the leader of the boys in the face, knocking him backwards.

At seeing this, the other five boys backed off in shock and ran to help their leader up.

Lelouch looked up weakly and saw me standing in front of him to protect him. "Serena…?" he said, groaning intensively in pain. He raised his head but then he collapsed again.

Facing the six boys, I snapped, "What the _hell _is wrong with you? What business do you have with beating up my friend?" Seeing that they were trying to get past me, I jumped in their way. "You do not touch him. I will make your life a living nightmare if you do." I turned and looked at Suzaku, who was standing nearby. _Suzaku, take Lelouch away from here. I'll meet you back at the shrine when I'm done with this._

Suzaku nodded and came over, helping Lelouch up and taking him away. When they disappeared into the trees, I turned and faced the boys again.

"Surround her," ordered the leader, and the other five boys did. They made menacing cackling noises. I was shocked at first, and saw with ease that I was greatly outnumbered.

But then, in the very next second, I lost control of myself and let out a battle cry, mercilessly attacking the boys from all sides, pounding and punching and slapping and kicking.

By the time five of the six boys were down, the leader came straight for me, yelling something unrecognizable. Narrowing my eyes in anger, I spun around and when he reached me, I kicked him so hard where it counts I could swear I heard something snap.

The boy groaned in pain and fell backwards, holding himself. After that, I spun around and began yelling every Japanese curse that I could remember from a book I had read when I was seven.

By the time I finished cursing, I was hyperventilating, holding my chest and running off into the woods, back towards the Kururugi Shrine. When I had arrived at the shrine, Suzaku was the first to greet me.

"Serena, you look out of breath," he said. "Did those guys beat you?" He began to look protective.

I waved the situation off and shook my head. "No, Suzaku, _I_ took _them _out myself," I said. _Not to mention that I _also _yelled every Japanese curse there was after that, my friend,_ I added through telepathy.

Suzaku's eyes widened in fear. _You actually did something like that? _he thought back to me, and I nodded with satisfaction before he and I went over to the storehouse.

Later that day, the four of us went fishing, since it depended on our dinner. Me, being a pro at hunting and fishing, had no difficulty at catching fish whatsoever (Lelouch was not as lucky).

After I had caught a huge carp, I heard a twig snap, and my head snapped upward, listening carefully to the noises around us. I smelled cougar, but why would it be here? In the next second, a loud roar was heard and a cougar jumped out from the side, right at me; it was in attacking position.

Shocked from this, I pushed my friends to the side, and the cougar landed in a lopsided direction.

I turned and faced the cougar, and I was shocked when I recognized his face. "Remus Sanders," I snarled. "So you've come for a brawl, haven't you?" I demanded.

Remus stood up and turned to me, chuckling evilly, his golden eyes blazing with hot fire. "So the pup daughter of Dachi Winters still lives, eh? I'm surprised," he said. "But now, maybe it is the time you finish you off."

"I think not, Remus," I snapped. I turned to Suzaku, Lelouch, and Nunnally. "You three, take the fish and go back to the shrine. I'll meet you there after I'm finished with this."

"But Serena…" Suzaku tried to protest.

"Go _now_!" I ordered more firmly, and I phased into my wolf form. My fur was a dark reddish-brown with a lighter undercoat. My green eyes still shone bright. I stood on two legs (as did Remus) like a human would normally and snarled violently at Remus, claws out and teeth bared.

Suzaku and Lelouch fled with Nunnally, and a great fight ensued between me and Remus. We clashed endlessly for five long minutes.

At one point in the battle, Remus said behind my back, "No wonder your mother was ripped away from your life. She has such a mindless daughter who cannot fight properly."

That did it right there. My eyes shone gold and I whipped around, leaping at Remus and jumping onto his face, biting into his left eye, violently ripping it off. Remus yowled in pain, trying to throw me off, and I eventually let go when I ripped out his eye socket.

When Remus turned and faced me, his left eye was nothing but a bloody hole in his face, as I had also torn some skin off as well. I was shocked at what I did, but then my wolf instincts snapped back as Remus came barreling towards me; I leapt up and sliced his left shoulder open with my fangs, causing him to flee. He dropped something as he ran off into the woods.

I stood up on two legs as I picked what he dropped up with my hooked claw. It was a cross necklace with blue and brown jewels. I recognized the necklace in two seconds' time. This necklace had once belonged to my mother. Remus and Romulus must have stolen it from her when they attacked. I put the necklace around my neck, washed the blood off my face in the river, and raced back to the Kururugi Shrine on all fours.

When I arrived back to the shrine, my three friends were already there, thankfully unharmed. "I'm back, you three!" I called, and Suzaku and Lelouch looked up, overjoyed to see that I was unharmed.

"Serena, thank goodness!" Suzaku said, getting up and running over to me, hugging my big wolf neck. "I thought that guy had killed you. Who was he, anyway?"

"He was Remus, Romulus' younger brother," I answered vaguely. "He is the younger brother of the one who murdered my mother."

"What made him run away?" Lelouch asked, and I looked at him.

"He fled when I wounded him," I said. "I cut open his shoulder, and it bled nonstop, causing him to quit the battle and flee."

"Is that a necklace you're wearing?" Lelouch asked next, seeing the cross I was wearing, and I nodded.

"This once belonged to my mother, but now I have to protect it since she is no longer among the living. But now what is most important is now you know why I am a wolf. I am one of the Beast People," I told Lelouch and Nunnally, and Suzaku nodded in agreement with me. "My father, Dachi Winters, is the current Alpha of the wolf clan. My mother was the Alphess, and I am their heir." I opened my paw, exposing my Beast Mark to them. "I am the only one out of my siblings that was born with this ancient mark, and it is why I am here. The Black Demons seek my life, but they'll try to get to me by harming you lot, but I won't let that happen. If any Black Demon comes here, they will be my prey, mark my words," I said grimly.

Suzaku, Lelouch, and Nunnally looked at me in shock, but they knew full well that I meant what I said.


	6. A Lesson Hopefully Learned

Not long after the incidental fight with Remus, some temporary peace seemed to come upon Kururugi Shrine, upon Japan itself. On the shrine, Lelouch and Nunnally eventually got used to the "me being a wolf" thing.

One winter night, Suzaku and Lelouch decided to have a little fun, by trying to give me a heart attack with a sick act. Here's what happened: I was walking through the hall of the main building on the shrine's grounds, and when I made a right turn at a corner, I saw a horrifying poster with a red-eyed bear that looked like it was about to eat me at any second*.

I screamed my lungs out and stormed out of the main building in a rush, whilst I heard Suzaku and Lelouch laughing hard near the storehouse.

My nostrils flared, and my eyes shone gold, as my fangs were exposed. Those boys were wolf meat. "SUZAKU AND LELOUCH, YOU WAIT UNTIL I GET MY CLAWS ON YOU!" I roared. "JUST _WHAT_ ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?"

They saw how angry I was as I sprinted up to them, phasing to my wolf form and snapping my teeth like a deranged animal going for the kill. The boys jumped for the rafters, and made it there in time, just before I reached them. "Don't _ever_ do that poster again. I want it down from where it stands before I return to the main building for the night, you hear?"

Suzaku, frightened, saluted me and said, "Yes, ma'am."

Lelouch did and said the same thing.

"And _pronto_!" I added, more firmly than I meant to, really, and the boys jumped down the rafters and made a beeline for the main building.

As I watched them go, I gave them a small snarl of warning. I then turned to Nunnally, who was sitting in her wheelchair nearby. "Sorry about that little show, Nunnally. I just hope that they learned their lesson," I said.

"Me too," Nunnally said, and a small giggle escaped her mouth, before she began laughing.

I laughed along with her.

"Were you really going to bite them?" Nunnally asked, becoming concerned again.

"No way; I haven't the nerve to attack a human, let alone my human friends," I confirmed, before we began laughing again. Right after that, Suzaku and Lelouch came back, panting harshly.

I looked at them disapprovingly. "I really hope you learned your lesson, boys: never cross a girl, even if she's a Beast," I said. "Now, did you put it out?"

"Tore it to shreds and tossed it into the bushes," Lelouch confirmed.

"Good," I said. "I hope not to see that cursed thing again."

"You won't, trust me," Suzaku said, and I smiled slyly.

With a look of trusting, I turned away from them and said, "I'm going hunting for wild boar. I'll be back before 8:00, hopefully. And I need to refill my meat stash."

And with that, I ran down the hill to hunt some meat and to keep on the lookout for anything dangerous, counting Black Demons and… _Romulus_.

* * *

><p><strong>*<em>This poster that I speak of is real, not fake. It is the DVD poster of the 2010 movie, <span>Bear<span>. Trust me, that thing is something horrific. I first saw it by accident when I was 13; the date was approximately Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010. I was at school when it happened. Seeing it just once has haunted me from that day forward, but if you want to go to Google Images and see it, be my guest. It is exactly how I described it in this chapter. Just don't be mean and send me a link, because I don't want to risk dying of fright._**


	7. A Fight and Whisperings of the Past

About an hour after I caught a giant wild boar for my meat stash, I smelled something foul on the wind. When I finally recognized the scent, I could smell that it was a Black Demon Leopardess and a few of her followers, going straight for the shrine where my friends were!

I quickly stashed away my kill and bolted for the shrine, letting out a howl of alarm to alert Suzaku, Lelouch, and Nunnally. The second before I reached the shrine, I heard their screams. From atop a ridge, I saw the Leopardess I scented earlier, slowly stalking for the three humans.

Thinking quickly, I noticed a tree root hanging off from a higher position. I leapt for it, snapped my jaws onto it, and did a front-flip down the ridge. I halted my flip when I was right above the Leopardess, going straight down like a meteor this time, and my jaws locked onto the head of the Leopardess.

The Leopardess yowled in alarm and tried to throw me off, but the more she tried, the tighter my grip got. Eventually, the Leopardess tired itself, and I jumped on a rock, thrashing my head back and forth violently, the blood of Leopardess staining my face.

My bite soon relinquished, and I threw the Leopardess against a rock, the impact breaking its skull. The Leopardess was dead before it hit the ground.

Panting harshly from my fury, I turned towards the Leopardess' followers, whom were petrified by my violent killing of their leader. I let out a vicious snarl that almost sounded like a roar, and the sound made their hearts skip a good pair of beats (yes, I could actually sense that), and they soon ran away.

The body of the Leopardess soon faded away into nothing as her followers disappeared into the darkness.

I turned to my friends, whom we scared to death, by the looks of it. "Are you alright?" I asked them, and they nodded, finally calming down, as it seemed.

* * *

><p>Later that night, I sat alone in front of the storehouse (in my human form), looking up at the full moon, and even noticing three bright stars near it. In the center of the three stars, I could tell it was my mother watching over me. I lowered my head sadly. <em>Mother, <em>I thought to myself._ Is this right, what I'm doing? Is this the way of the Beast People? _

It wasn't long before I heard a voice behind me, and I raised my head. "Serena?" said the voice. I turned my head; it was Lelouch, walking up to me with a concerned look on his face.

"Oh, hey, Lelouch," I said, putting on a smile so he wouldn't notice my sadness. "Can't get to sleep much?" I asked, knowing right after I asked that, that it was a dumb question.

Lelouch smiled. "I should be asking you that," he said. "You should be getting to sleep yourself. You know how late it is." He raised a brow, but he was still smiling.

"And _you _know what happened earlier with the Leopardess," I said. "I'm staying on guard because of that. You never know what might happen next."

We both laughed.

"Um, Lelouch..." I said, rather awkwardly, "If I may, can I ask how you and Nunnally ended up here in Japan?"

Lelouch gasped, widening his eyes. "Well..." he started, but then sighed. "A few months ago, when I was still nine years old, and Nunnally was six, some terrorists invaded our home in Britannia. I _was _a prince back then, in case you were wondering. My mother, Empress Marianne vi Britannia, was murdered, and Nunnally got shot in the legs, losing her ability to walk. Due to trauma, she even went blind."

I was horrified, my eyes wide with horror, but then I narrowed them. "So _that _is how Nunnally lost her mobility and sight, eh?" I asked, now angry, and my eyes were glowing in the dark. "Why, those big..."

Before I could say anything more, Lelouch resumed his story. "I confronted my father, Emperor Charles zi Britannia, about my mother's murder and Nunnally's condition. He didn't care about either of them."

My eyes widened in horror again, but this time wider. "To have a father as heartless as the Britannian Emperor...!" I exclaimed. "What happened afterwards?"

"I gave up my claim to the imperial throne, and then Father disowned me and Nunnally right away, sending us to Japan as political tools...!" Lelouch banged his fist against the wooden door of the entrance to the storehouse. "I swear..." The boy looked at me, an extreme darkness within his eyes. "...one day, I will defeat Britannia and my father. They will pay for what they did to me and Nunnally!"

I was shocked, not by Lelouch's words, but the determination he had within his heart. I nodded boldly. "And I hope you win, my friend," I said, my eyes glowing triumphantly, but then I felt sad again. "You know, Lelouch, you and Nunnally have gone through the same pain as Suzaku and I did. We all lost our mothers... to murderers and to weakness."

"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Our mothers were killed not too long ago, and Suzaku never knew his mother," I explained. "Suzaku's mother, Selena Kururugi, died when he was born, due to blood loss."

"I see," Lelouch said, letting out a sigh of understanding.

"So now you know," said a sudden voice. Lelouch and I both looked to the right; coming over from the main building was Suzaku. "We are all four motherless, and all we have left is our fathers," he said.

Lelouch and I nodded in agreement with him. "And hopefully my father is still alive, along with the rest of the clan. The other seven Beast clans have gone as well, and I hope that they still live. My friends, Buck and Kazan, are hopefully alive too," I added.

The three of us looked up at the three bright stars from earlier. "You know, boys, I've been having my eyes on these three stars for a while. I believe that they are our mothers, watching over us, guiding us through these harsh times." I could suddenly hear strange whisperings on the wind. "And I believe that they are trying to tell us something, you two."

"What?" Suzaku asked.

I closed my eyes and listened to the whisperings very carefully. "They're telling us that they want us to follow our hearts as we grow up, and that they'll be guiding us through it all," I confirmed.

Suzaku and Lelouch listened as well, and then they nodded. "Yes, I believe they are," Suzaku agreed.


	8. Some Good Winter Fun

A couple more weeks passed, and one day, in the middle of winter in December, Suzaku and I woke up to snow falling outside the window. "Wow…" I said as Suzaku and I went up to the window to glimpse what it looked like outside.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Suzaku asked, but then his eyes got wider when he got a better look. "And look, Serena! It seems that this year, we've been blessed by a wondrous blue winter!"

"Yes, we have, Suzaku," I agreed. "But it's nothing compared to the one we had three years ago! Do you remember that one?"

Suzaku nodded. "Yes, I do," he said. We looked directly into each other's eyes, and my eyes glowed as we looked inside my mind, into the past three years ago. We were six years old again, playing in the snow, but after a minute, the vision vanished.

"Hey, Suzaku," I said, after we ended our 'looking-into-the-past' trance. "Let's go see if Lelouch and Nunnally are up yet! We can have a winter run*!"

Suzaku immediately became excited and said, "Yeah, let's do it!"

* * *

><p>Half an hour passed, and Suzaku and I were dressed and had eaten breakfast (we ate some cooked boar meat I had left over), when we went to go get Lelouch and Nunnally. Surprisingly, they were already up, and they had been <em>waiting <em>for us, too.

"Hey, you two!" I called over as Suzaku and I ran up to them.

Lelouch and Nunnally faced us, but Lelouch was the only one who _saw_ us. "Good morning, Serena, Suzaku," Nunnally said. When Suzaku and I reached them, we all turned to the falling snow again, but then, I suddenly heard a loud chirping noise.

Lelouch, Suzaku, and I looked over and saw three mockingbirds sitting on a tree branch a few feet away. "Uh-oh," I said in a deadpan tone, phasing into my wolf form, narrowing my green eyes angrily, flattening my ears, and my tail thumping against the ground. "Not _them _again."

Suzaku suddenly recognized them as well and he narrowed his eyes too, walking to my side. "Serena, it's the Mockingbird Trio, isn't it?" he whispered in my ear, but Lelouch heard what he said.

"The who?" he said out loud, and the three Mockingbird Sisters heard him, and began mocking him. Instantly becoming annoyed, he shouted at the sisters to stop making fun of him, which only resulted in making the situation worse.

"Lelouch, be quiet!" I whisper-yelled to the boy. "You'll make the situation much worse than you already have!" I got the four of us together and we began to converse: "Listen here, you three. It's time I got the better of those good-for-nothing pests. Stay very quiet; I'm going to go over there and teach them a lesson." I put a sly smirk on. "Watch and learn, my friends." I trotted on all fours over to the tree, tail sticking straight up in the air. When I reached the tree I said in a sing-song voice, "I'm he-ere."

"He-ere! I'm he-ere!" the Mockingbird Sisters said mockingly right back at me.

I got a quick look back at my three human friends, smirked wickedly, did a thumbs-up, and then: "I'm a _stupid _bird!" And then I began walking away, eyes closed, ears back, and tail down, a frown on my face.

"I'm a stupid bir- Oh!" The Mockingbird Sisters had started to repeat my insult, but then when they realized what was going on, they stopped abruptly; my ears and tail stuck straight up, my dull frown turning into an _extremely_ satisfied grin. Mortified by my trick, the Mockingbird Sisters began saying things like, "Oh, what violence! Nasty little wolf! _Nasty_!"

When I got back to my friends, I leaned my wolf head down and whispered to them, "There, _that _shut them up."

My friends nodded.

* * *

><p>Later that afternoon, Lelouch, Suzaku, and I decided to have our own winter run*, like I'd used to do with my older brother Solaris, starting when I was only five years old and my brother was six.<p>

I put protective charms around the shrine, to protect the place from any Black Demons, because we left Nunnally there alone. After that, the boys and I ran to the nearest opening to the forest we could find, and then we began running.

I looked back at the boys, and saw that they were keeping up with me easily. It seemed that the scratch I gave them a few weeks ago gave them the ability of tireless energy*.

When we came to an exit to the forest, a hill was just ahead, so I jumped high into the air, doing a flip mid-stride, phasing to my wolf form in the process. I then came down, landing in the snow, and began running on all fours as a wolf.

Suzaku and Lelouch came sliding down the hill, and after two minutes of me running and them sliding, we crashed into the snow bank below.

After a minute of being buried in snow, we plunged out, Lelouch first, Suzaku next, and me last. I _dug _myself out, and then shook the wet snow off my dark auburn-colored fur. I turned and looked at Suzaku (who was the only one present at the minute), and after a brief pause, we suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh, that was fun! Insanely crazy, but fun all the same!" I yelled, slamming my paw down to the ground repeatedly, laughing uncontrollably.

"I agree, Serena; that was fun!" Suzaku said, laughing hard.

Suddenly, underneath the sheet of snow, a hand popped out. It was Lelouch, yelling things. It was muffled at first because of the snow. "You two are the most reckless…" His head then shot out of the snow, and then he began pulling himself out. "…insane people I've ever met!" He looked at me and Suzaku, looking angry at first, but then he scoffed lightly, and smiled. "But all the same, I guess that was a pretty good run."

All three of us started to laugh hard, but then I stopped instantly as I smelled the air. It was strangely unstable. I then recognized the smell. It was the scent of the forthcoming of a major snowstorm, and in a panic, I realized that it was only ten minutes away from hitting.

"Serena, what's wrong?" Suzaku asked, noticing the panicked look on my face.

"I can smell a major blizzard that is a sixth of an hour away from hitting!" I said. I got down on my stomach and added, "Quick, get on my back! We got to get back to the shrine before it hits!"

Suzaku and Lelouch didn't argue and climbed up on my back. As soon as they were on, I began running really fast, so we wouldn't get caught by the blizzard. We got back to the shrine two minutes fast. I undid the protective charms and walked inside the storehouse with Lelouch and Suzaku still on my back.

* * *

><p>That night, the blizzard arrived with a bang. The unstable and violent winds were coming through cracks in the wall, and my friends were shivering, freezing cold because of the wind's strong force.<p>

"Cold?" I asked. My friends nodded, and I said, "Well, there's a hundred and ten degrees over here."

They slowly came up and sat against me, feeling the intense warmth of my fur (I remained in my wolf form the rest of the night). "Oh, Serena, you're so warm!" Suzaku exclaimed, a tingly chill running down his spine.

"She _is_ warm!" Lelouch agreed.

I smiled and chuckled. "That's the way it us for us Beast People. We never get cold, not even in human form, unless we get wet. A wet Beast is a cold Beast; a dry Beast is a warm Beast."

The three of them smiled, and fell asleep against me, and soon, I fell asleep too, waiting for the next day to come.

* * *

><p><em><strong>*#1: A winter run, in my point of view is when a group of family or close friends go for long runs through snow and slid down hills.<strong>_

_***#2: A Beast's scratch can rearrange the DNA of a human, giving them the power of telepathy (mind-reading (to look inside their minds as well)) the ablility to understand normal animals, the strength of a million Beasts, and tireless energy, aforementioned before.**_

_**Also, I want to apologize to everyone for not updating as much. I meant to update this last week, but my uncle passed away of cancer recently (July 27th, 2012). We went through a state of depression, and that's what messed up my updating schedule.**_


	9. Praised by Wolfen

A couple months passed, and winter was soon nearing its end. Suzaku, Lelouch, and I decided to have a little fun in the snow before the sun would rise.

As we came to a hill, I felt a disturbance in the air, and I stopped playing. "Boys, hold it," I said, looking towards the sky, my senses sharp and alert.

Suzaku and Lelouch looked at me curiously. "What is it, Serena?" Suzaku asked.

"I feel some sort of disturbance, and then there's also this voice I'm hearing in my head," I said. "I really can't explain it. I just…" I broke off when I heard an echoing howl that sounded like it was coming from the heavens.

It wasn't long before I found myself running down the hill and into a snowy field. I stopped when I was at the center of the field, and as I looked up at the sky again, a bright light shone down to the ground.

I widened my eyes in awe when suddenly, in the midst of the bright light, Wolfen, the Beast Guardian* of the Wolves, appeared, his white fur shining as beautiful as the sun, his golden eyes glowing like two mystic orbs. "Wolfen!" I exclaimed, running up until I was standing directly below the Beast Guardian's giant form. I bowed before him.

Wolfen looked down on me and said, "You may raise your head, Serena."

I didn't hesitate at his command, and I stood up straight, looking up at him again. "My lord, to what do I owe the pleasure of meeting you?" I asked.

"The pleasure is all mine, young Wolf Beast," Wolfen said with a smile forming on his face. "I believe you should know, Serena, I am here to give you a gift."

"A gift, my lord?" I asked, momentarily confused.

Wolfen nodded. "Yes, young one. As your forefather, I am to give all Wolf Beasts gifts when they are ready to receive them. Are _you _ready to receive your gift, Serena?" he said.

I thought for a second and then nodded boldly. "I do accept, Wolfen," I said.

Wolfen raised a paw above my head. "Very well," he said. The Beast Guardian then pressed the tip of one of his claws against my forehead. "By the power of the Beast Guardians, I, Wolfen, Beast Guardian of the Wolves, give you, Serena, your powers." My eyes glowed when I felt a large burst of energy surge through me.

Wolfen spoke in Ancient Norse, where we Beast People originated from, but I could understand his words. He said: "Serena, your power will be to call the sun every morning every time it shall rise; to summon the Spring Equinox when it is time; and every single mighty power of the sun there is in the world of the Beasts. Bear this gift well and use it wisely, for there are dangers at every corner at every minute."

Not long after Wolfen removed his claw from my head, he and the bright light that shone around him disappeared in the blink of an eye.

I opened my eyes to see that everything around me was dark again, the moon starting to go down. I knew that now it was time for me to call the sun.

For a moment or two, I looked back towards the hill at Lelouch and Suzaku. They were still dazed at what they just saw happen. I then started running towards the nearby cliff, jumping up every ledge there was. Once I made it to the top of the cliff, I could see small tints of orange on the horizon. I let out a long, strong howl that caused the sun to start rising even further, and as the valiant rays of light began to stretch out across the land, the snow started melting straightaway, for spring had arrived finally.

"Serena!" I heard Suzaku call from below the cliff. I looked down, saw him and Lelouch, and smiled. I then jumped down the cliff to them. When I reached them, they hugged my big wolf head.

"Serena, who was that big white wolf?" Lelouch asked.

"That, my friend, was Wolfen, the Beast Guardian of the Wolves himself," I said.

"What did he do to you?" Suzaku asked next.

"He praised me," I answered. "He gave me the power of the sun."

"Whoa…" Suzaku and Lelouch said in unison, and as I sat on the grass next to them, we continued to watch the sun rise, until it was completely visible to our eyes.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Glad to finally update this story again after my first day of high school on August 7th, 2012. Now you get to see how Serena receives her powers.<strong>_

_***#1: Beast Guardians-the eight forefathers and foremothers of the Beast People.**_

_**Wolfen-the Beast Guardian of the Wolves.**_

_**Bast-the Beast Guardian of the Cougars**_

_**Ursa-the Beast Guardian of the Bears.**_

_**Leo-the Beast Guardian of the Lions.**_

_**Sheba-the Beast Guardian of the Leopards.**_

_**Ferra-the Beast Guardian of the Tigers.**_

_**Talon-the Beast Guardian of the Eagles.**_

_**Shen-the Beast Guardian of the Hyenas.**_


End file.
